


The Other Side

by ViceRoy21



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-10-28 23:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20786801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViceRoy21/pseuds/ViceRoy21
Summary: Just another genocide route... or is it?





	1. Chapter 1

Papyrus groaned as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. He heard muffled chatter off to the side, it was too low for him to understand. Things went quiet as he began to move and he felt a gentle furry hand rest against his bones. "Careful young one, allow yourself to become more aware before you begin moving" a gentle voice soothed the skeleton. He blinked his sockets open and looked up at the figure who was bent over him. He stared in confusion as the face of a goat like monster peered down at him.

"Your majesty? When did you shave your beard?" he asked in confusion causing the figure above him to blink in surprise then let out a laugh.

"I believe you have me confused for someone else my friend, I am Toriel" the monster spoke as Papyrus slowly sat up.

"So… you are not king Asgore? Huh… that would explain why you sound different" Papyrus mused as he pushed himself to his feet "it is a pleasure to meet you Lady Toriel, I am the Great Papyrus, soon to be member of the royal guard". He gave the monster a bow causing her to laugh softly.

"it is a pleasure to meet you as well Papyrus… though I wish it could have been under more pleasant circumstances" Toriel said, her smile slowly fading causing Papyrus to blink in confusion and let out a small nyeh of concern.

"I do not understand Lady Toriel, what circumstances do you speak of?" the skeleton asked curiously.

Toriel let out a soft sad sigh and asked "what is the last thing you remember?".

Papyrus blinked then frowned as he thought "um… I remember a human? And we were partaking in some splendid puzzles. Or well… we would have had they not simply passed them by with no interest… they acted so strangely. I wanted them to know how much I believed in them… we had a discussion about their actions and… the rest is fuzzy". His hand absently rubbed at his throat as he looked around. He spotted quite a few monsters gathered about. He noticed that almost all of the royal guard was there too. Other than that though they were surrounded by never ending blackness. "where… are we?" He asked uncertainly.

Toriel sighed and shook her head "I have no answer for you Papyrus. All I can say is every monster who is here… has fallen to the child's hands".

Papyrus blinked in surprise "f-fallen? What do you mean, surely not fallen as in…".

Toriel gave him a sad look "we were all turned to dust Papyrus, we have watched them from this place… I am sorry dear".

Papyrus held a lost look as he glanced around them once again "so… we are all… dead? But… there was so much I needed to do. I was going to become a royal guard… we were going to break the barrier… Sans and I were going to see the outside… Sans… oh goodness Sans… I've… I've left him alone! He needs me, I can't be dead!". Papyrus went from lost to panicked. Toriel pulled him into a hug to keep the distraught skeleton from freaking out.

"Hush now dear, I am sure Sans is doing well and is taking care of himself; do not fret" she shushed as she rocked him. Papyrus clung to the woman and allowed himself a moment to take in her comfort.

"You said you have watched the human from here… is there any way to watch someone else?" Papyrus asked as he pulled back. The goat monster shook her head and sighed.

"Many have tried to look in on their families but the image only allows us to follow the human" she explained as she led him over to what looked like a window. On the other side Papyrus watched the human make their way through waterfall, killing every monster they came across. After each monster turned to dust they reappeared in this black space; as confused and disoriented as he had been.

It took almost no time at all for them to make their way to the border that laid between waterfall and Hotland. Much to everyones horror, monster kid confronted the human. Without any empathy the human struck out.

Just in time Undyne managed to take the hit. "Undyne no!" Papyrus cried out in shock. She told monster kid to run and reluctantly they did so. After the kid left Undyne slowly started to crumble. The monsters watched in horror and sorrow as their hero was dying. Suddenly she stopped. Everyone was astounded as Undyne refused to die, her determination too strong. They watched as her body transformed, turning her into an unstoppable killing machine.

They cheered her on as she fought the human, her attacks and strength more ferocious than ever. The battle was fierce and with each hit all monsters were on the edge of their seat. Cries of dismay rang out as the human cast the final attack. They watched as the heroin of the underground slowly died, her dust scattering to the wind.

There was a commotion as suddenly the very monster they were mourning appeared before them. Many exclamations rang out as Undyne was buried under all her admirers. Papyrus pushed his way to the center of the commotion. "UNDYNE!" Papyrus cried out as he tackle hugged the captain.

"Gah!" she grunted as the others weight crashed into her, toppling her back down "alright you big nerd! Get off!". Papyrus released her and sat back, letting Undyne sit up and take everything in "you got some explaining to do, like how we're all here and where here is".

"we don't know Undyne, we all woke up here just like you did now after confronting the human…. Your fight was astounding" Papyrus told her. Undyne got to her feet and walked over to the window, watching the human make their way through hotland. Clenching a fist she slammed it into the window, it didn't even rattle.

She growled as she watched the human encounter rg 1 and rg 2, killing both easily. Those same guards ended up in the dark world with the rest of them. They watched as the human had no trouble taking out Muffet and Mettaton, adding to their numbers. "Damn, there's only Asgore left to stand in their way, let's hope he listened to Alphys and absorbed the souls" Undyne grumbled as she glared at the screen.

The human traversed through Asgore's house. Everyone watched as flowey followed and talked to the human. "Whose the flower?" Undyne said with a huff. Papyrus watched in disbelief "i… but I always thought he was a nice flower… why would he want us to hurt?".

Toriel gasped and placed her hand over her mouth as she listened to flowey "A-Asriel?...".

Undyne turned to give her a look "you mean Asgore's dead kid? That's what that thing is?". Flowey realized they were as doomed as everyone else, running away in fright. "Not much longer now" Undyne said solemnly as the human entered the judgement hall leading to the throne room.

They all watched as the human walked the length of the hall, the anticipation growing. Suddenly the human stopped and a ruckus went up among the monsters as they saw who stood in the humans way. "SANS NO! RUN!" Papyrus exclaimed in horror as he saw his brother stare the human down.

"Is your brother crazy? I couldn't even defeat that brat! What, is he gonna throw his slipper?" Undyne exclaimed in annoyance. Papyrus listened to the very words that he spoke leave his brothers mouth, leaving him with the realization Sans was there when he had died; his brother had seen and heard everything.

Papyrus watched his brothers eye lights go out and a sudden chill went up his spine as a bad feeling began to grow in his non existent gut. "oh Sans" Toriel said sadly as he mentioned the promise she made him give. Everyone watched as the scene went from peaceful talk of the weather to hell in five seconds flat. Lots of exclamations rang out as Sans first attack decimated the human.

"WHAT THE HELL! SINCE WHEN HAS YOUR BROTHER HAD THAT KIND OF FIRE POWER!" Undyne snarled, shaking Papyrus "HE COULD HAVE BEEN PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD!".

"U-Und-dy-yne ple-ease s-sto-op" Papyrus said dizzily. Undyne stopped and grunted in disgust, dropping him and turning back to the fight. They all watched as the human came back from practically dying and the fight once again resumed. This repeated many times, the human dying only to come back wiser and quicker, dodging more and more. They were astounded by Sans words. His talk of time lines and the end of their universe all because of one human with too much power.

Papyrus listened sadly to his brother as he talked about not caring any more, about having given up a long time ago. He had known Sans was hiding something from him, the other unhappier than he had ever seen him. He hadn't realized it had gotten this bad. Things grew more and more hectic. Everyone watched in amazement as Sans attacks grew more and more crazy.

Papyrus watched his brother worriedly, he could see this was wearing out the lazy skeleton; fighting just wasn't his brother's style but it seemed he could do so if absolutely necessary. Sans began speaking of a special attack and everyone grew frenzied as the fight wore on. The final attack was the most intense of them all, so much happening so fast; no one could keep up. As the attack ended Sans stood there panting and sweating.

Nothing happened for a long time and everyone grew tense, waiting. After Sans admitted his special attack was nothing you could practically hear the entire underground face palming at such a lazy move. Papyrus watched in horror as Sans slowly fell asleep. "No Sans stay awake!" He cried out, banging on the window. Once the human was sure Sans was asleep they took a swing at him. Papyrus cringed, waiting.

Sans dodged and was in the middle of gloating when he was suddenly stricken. Papyrus went from relieved to horrified in seconds, watching red drip from his brother. "is he bleeding?" Undyne whispered in awe, monsters didn't bleed so the sight was astounding. Sans stumbled off behind a pillar, asking a Papyrus who wasn't there if he wanted something from Grillby's. Papyrus let out a choked cry as he heard the sound of Sans dissolving out of sight.

There was a commotion as the other skeleton brother slowly appeared in the black void. Papyrus once again shoved his way through and tackled Sans "BROTHER!". Sans was disoriented and shaken, his dead brother was hugging him after his own death by human hands. He slowly hugged back and the two gripped each other tightly. The crowd decided to give them some form of privacy and backed away.

"Sans why did you fight the human, you should have stayed away, stayed safe" Papyrus demanded.

"And what? Live the rest of my days in an empty mountain? Just waiting till the day I finally dust? Fuck that" he said sharply as he gripped Papyrus face "without you in the world there is no point sticking around… besides, they'll reset… they always do… we'll be alive again after they kill Asgore and we'll go back to square one… I'm so sick of this Paps… watching you die over and over… it's hell".

Papyrus stared at his brother then pulled him into another bone crushing hug "I don't understand any of this but so long as we have each other we will be okay". After a long hug they pulled back and simply sat there a moment, enjoying each others presence. After a while Sans spoke up "so why are we in the void? I don't remember any of this".

"you know this place brother?" Papyrus asked curiously. Before Sans could answer, Asgore appeared causing a large uproar. Sans didn't pay this much attention, his focus was on their surroundings. No body noticed but he could see movement in the shadows. Sans pulled out of Papyrus hold much to the taller's displeasure. He walked toward the shadow with Papyrus calling after him.

Sans stopped a few feet away, Papyrus on his tail. "you did this, didn't you? You're why everyone is here in the void" he spoke, confusing Papyrus. A figure appeared from the dark, startling Papyrus. The figure seemed melted, their misshapen body unable to hold a solid form. "thank you Gaster" Sans said softly, staring sadly at his old friend "I'm trying to fix the machine, I'm trying to bring you back… it's hard with a kid constantly resetting time".

The dark figure wobbled and wavered, letting out a strange sound. Sans gave him a small smile and nodded, watching Gaster slowly meld back into the dark. After a long moment of quiet Papyrus spoke up "brother? Who was that? Did he bring us here?".

Sans was quiet a moment longer before turning and heading back to the group of monsters "it's nothing Paps, come on, the kid is just about done then we can all go back and forget this happened".

"You mean everyone but you will forget" Papyrus said lowly, causing Sans to freeze. Papyrus walked up to Sans and hugged him "I don't want to forget brother".

"Sorry Paps… that's just the way this works" Sans said lowly, his head hanging and eye sockets closed "don't worry about it bro… I'm used to it by now". Papyrus let out a desolate nyeh and hugged Sans tighter. There was a static sound that slowly grew louder. "I'll see you when you wake up bud" Sans said as everything went white.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so after a couple of people asked for more this small thought came to my mind.  
Sorry if this chapter doesn't read well, the more I read over something the more I want to change it. You can ignore it if you want. If I'm inspired later I may add more but for now this is it.

Papyrus gasped as his sockets flew open and he quickly sat up. He was in his race car bed in his room. He let out a confused Nyeh as he looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. One moment they had been in blackness, the next he was in his room as if nothing had happened.

“Sans” he gasped as he suddenly remembered his brother. He flew from his bed and out the door, covering the small distance between their rooms in a few short strides. He jiggled his brother’s door knob only to find it locked then proceeded to pound his fists against the wood. 

“Sans! Sans if you are in there wake up and come out!” Papyrus called, a small note of desperation tinting his voice.

He heard a muffled thump and a curse from the other side of the door. It made him feel slightly better to hear his brother’s voice but he had to see him to make sure he was okay. A few moments later the door slowly creaked open. Sans stood before him in his usual attire of shirt, shorts, jacket, and slippers as he rubbed tiredly at his eye sockets.

“What’s… up bud?” Sans yawned sleepily “it’s one in the morning, I know you have a vendetta against sleep but isn’t this a bit much?”.

Papyrus breathed a sigh of relief when his eye lights took in his sleep rumpled brother “I’m sorry to have awaken you from your extra long nap Sans…. I just…. Had a bad dream is all and needed to reassure myself that you were alright”. 

It had all been a dream hadn’t it? Surely that’s all it could have been.

Sans paused mid yawn at hearing this and he instantly became more awake as he stared intently at Papyrus “Bad dream you say? Wanna talk about it pal? I’m all ears despite not having any”.

Papyrus twitched at the pun his brother had the audacity to speak “Is now really the time for puns? You know what, I’m going to let it slide because I’m not in the mood to argue about it”.

“Wow that dream must have really rattled your bones if you aren’t going to scold me for making puns” Sans said in amusement, getting an aggravated Nyeh from the taller skeleton.

“Never mind!” Papyrus exclaimed, turning to stomp away only to have his brother grab his scarf.

“Hey wait, I promise to give the puns a rest” Sans said as he stopped the other from leaving “C’mon bro, talk to me”.

“No more puns?” Papyrus said dubiously as he turned to look down at his vertically challenged brother.

“Cross my soul” Sans said as he made an X over where his soul rested.

Papyrus relaxed at that and nodded. He stood there fidgeting as he tried to figure out what to say next. Sans was acting as if everything was normal and everyone hadn’t just been murdered by a human. It put Papyrus on edge and made him feel as if maybe it was all just his imagination… but he would never dream of something so horrible. The only way to find out was to see if Sans would talk about it.

“Say, let’s go sit down in the living room, it’s better than standing around in the hallway” Sans suggested and he herded Papyrus downstairs while the other was distracted by his thoughts. They were soon both settled on the couch and Papyrus continued to fidget.

“Ya know bud, I’m no mind reader” Sans told Papyrus gently “Yer gonna need to start this conversation or we’re just gonna be sitting here in awkward silence”.

“I… I’m not sure where to start” Papyrus said honestly with a sigh “What happened was strange and confusing”.

“How bout you start with the beginning? That’s always a good place to start” Sans suggested as he made himself comfortable.

Papyrus pursed his teeth as he recalled waking up to pitch blackness, surrounded by many confused and frightened monsters. He then recalled Sans last words to him, about how no one would remember and how used to it he was.

“Sans… are you happy?” Papyrus asked, looking at his older brother with a seriousness in his sockets he rarely held, this question out of all the others bouncing around in his skull was the most important.

Sans froze at that question, confused and worried. Whatever had shaken Papyrus must have been serious if he was asking something like that out of nowhere, Papyrus has never questioned Sans happiness before in any of the other resets… did the void do something to the timeline?... What was Gaster up to? 

“Course I am bud, how could I not be?” Sans told him as honestly as he could. Papyrus made him happy… it was everything else that made him feel miserable and hopeless… Papyrus is his one hope.

“Please don’t lie to me Sans… I’m not a baby bones any more” Papyrus told him as more memories flashed through his mind, of empty sockets and an empty smile. Sans didn’t even twitch, simply keeping his same lazy expression as he watched his brother watch him back.

“What reason would I have to lie to the Great Papyrus?” Sans asked as he propped his skull on his hand as his elbow rest on the arm of the couch.

“Because you think I can’t or won’t be able to understand brother” Papyrus said as he crossed his arms “I know more than you think I do”.

“I never claimed you wouldn’t be able to understand something Pap’s” Sans told him.

“You don’t have to claim it, I can see it in the way you look at me, as if you are humoring a child” Papyrus frowned “I want an honest answer from you before I begin the retelling of my dream. If something were to ever happen to me, accidentally or intentional, would you be able to take care of yourself and live on without me?”.

Sans froze at Papyrus words, his eye lights flickering and his grin becoming a grimace. “Why are you asking me this Papyrus? What was that dream about? What makes you think you’re going somewhere without me?” Sans asked, his voice strained and his fingers clenching.

Papyrus stayed stubbornly silent, waiting for his brother to answer his question, he refused to say anything else until Sans cooperated with him.

“That question isn’t funny Pap’s and I think you already know the answer to it” Sans said as he finally looked away from the taller skeleton. Papyrus sighed at that answer, he did indeed know what the answer would be and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Well then, I think you already know what my dream was about” Papyrus countered, using his brother’s words against him.

“Why are you dreaming of stuff like that Papyrus, you know that will never happen; I won’t let it” Sans told him, trying to put conviction into his words but they only rang hollow, he had failed to keep Papyrus alive so many times that he could never say those words with any amount of truthfulness.

“Do I Sans? Do I know?” Papyrus asked, an edge in his tone he had never used before. If Sans refused to tell him of the timelines and the human on his own then Papyrus would have to take measures into his own skeletal hands.

“I don’t know what you want from me Pap’s, I’ve already said I’m not a mind reader!” Sans snapped, this entire conversation aggravating him in a way he’s never felt before; he didn’t like what Papyrus was implying and it was putting him on edge, an edge he knew that if he fell over that he would never be able to come back from.

“The truth Sans, I want you to stop hiding the truth and to trust me” Papyrus said sternly “Stop keeping everything bottled up and for once let me help you”.

He knew… somehow Papyrus knew… and it was Gaster’s fault, that stupid monster somehow altered the timeline with his meddling… Just how much did his brother know? Did he remember one time line or many? Or did he not remember and Sans was just being paranoid? Maybe Papyrus was just speculating? Maybe he just has a feeling that something was being kept from him…

“Look Papyrus, whatever it is you think you know, you need to just forget” Sans finally told him, resignation weighing down every single bone he was made of “there are just some things that not even the great Papyrus can change”.

“How do you know if I can’t?” Papyrus countered with a scowl “Have you ever tried to talk to me about it?”.

“Once…” Sans admitted “Back when this all first started…. But it didn’t do any good, you’re you… you won’t give up on something if you think you can change things for the better”.

Papyrus pursed his teeth, that did indeed sound like him and it saddened him that he was one of the many causes to his brother’s pain “I… I’m sorry brother”.

Sans shook his head at the other’s apology and sighed “I know you Pap’s, I knew that no matter what I said it wouldn’t change your mind… you’re a good person, not doing anything would go against your nature”.

“Mmm true” Papyrus sighed “but I think now we can change things for the better. I need your help though if I am to better understand just what is going on… as much as I am loath to say, the great Papyrus is very lost”.

“You’ll just forget again… there is no way to stop that from happening” Sans told him with a sigh “I don’t know what you remember or how but I’m pretty sure this is all a fluke that Gaster somehow instigated”.

“But that’s just it brother, this shows that there is indeed a way for me to remember again” Papyrus urged him “think positively brother, think of this as a new beginning, a chance to make a change”.

“You’re way too positive bro” Sans grumbled and was nudged by Papyrus.

“Only because someone needs to balance out your negativity nyeh ha ha!” The taller skeleton laughed, earning a small chuckle from the shorter as he pushed Papyrus hand away.

“Now then, enough monkey business, time to begin planning” Papyrus said after a little more playful pushing.

“But monkeying around is so a-peel-ing” Sans said with a lazy grin.

Papyrus eye socket twitched and a small irritated Nyeh left his mouth as he stood from his seat “it is official, I disown you and your puns”.

“Nah bro come back, I’m sorry for driving you bananas!” Sans laughed as he made a grab for Papyrus scarf only to miss as the taller jerked away, covering his skull where his ears would be if he had any.

“NYEH!! I CAN’T HEAR YOU OR YOUR TERRIBLE PUNS!!” Papyrus exclaimed, suppressing a smile as his brother continued to laugh and dish out bad puns.


End file.
